His Butler, Under the Mistletoe
by the corrupted quiet one
Summary: A fluffy Christmas story of how a little spirit and cliché brought a demon and a reaper a little closer together.  First Kuroshitsuji fiction, written for a friend, thus the dedication


**His Butler, Under the Mistletoe**

_For my lovely Slytherin husbandu, the one and only Earl Grey, Ambassador of the Francophiles_

A light even snowfall gently sprinkled down on the city of London, little white flurries floating all about the violet night sky. Christmas Eve had come, bringing Old Man Winter to the English capital and with him a fine blanket of snow. Outside the frosty air blew, chilling the city's people, but certainly not cooling their Christmas spirit, especially for those going to Lord Aleister Chamber's annual Christmas extravaganza. Well, _almost_ everyone.

"Sebastian," Earl Ciel Phantomhive, the young head of the great Phantomhive house and the thirteen year old that wanted to attend the Viscount of Druitt's party as much as he'd want to stand on the bank of the Thames in only his undergarments, "Why did we have to come?" The boy frowned, his one blue eye not concealed by a black silk patch glaring at the marble floor of the main party hall, the even drone of dancing and laughing partiers filling Ciel's ears. It wasn't that he despised parties entirely...It was just that they had to go to _the Viscount's_ party.

"Hmm?" Sebastian, the demonic butler in black and servant of the blue-grey haired boy having basically no fun, looked over at his young master, dull crimson eyes looking like rubies in the light of the many chandeliers and candelabras, "Young master, we had to appear, think of your image."

As a Phantomhive, Ciel knew he'd have to attend some parties, just to keep up the social reputation; but it didn't say anywhere that he'd have to be happy about it.

"I thought you said that appearing as a Phantomhive would bring too much attention to us," The boy sneered, still staring at the ground as he fixed the small blue velvet top hat that sat upon his head.

The butler smirked, a little chuckle escaping his throat, "Yes, that's true, but we were on a _case_ then," Sebastian pointed out, "Right now, on the other hand, we're here on social request. After all, how could a Phantomhive reject an invitation to the most lavish party of the season?"

Ciel looked up, staring at his butler with an annoyed expression, his eyes almost burning with the reminder of _last time _they attended one of Lord Chamber's parties.

The black haired demon's smirk faded into a small frown at the glare. "Young master, that was under different circumstances in which that happened. You're not going to have to worry about _that_ when you're appearing as yourself and not a," The smile returned at Sebastian's amusement at the memory, "_Young lady."_

The earl growled, narrowing his eye, "My face is still the same. Besides, I'd prefer going through the holiday without being ra—"

"CIEL!" A slightly high pitched cry crashed Ciel's train of thought and also drowned out his words as, almost out of the blue, Elizabeth Middleford sprung from the crowd. The girl's arms were spread out, her dress shoes clacking on the marble floor as she charged for a hug, "CIEL I'M SO GLAD YOU CAME!"

"E-Elizabeth—!" Ciel glanced over in shock as his fair haired fiancée quickly clung to his waist and latched on to his chest, nearly causing the young boy to fall over.

"Ciel! Ciel!" Elizabeth beamed, her smile twice the size of her emerald eyes that could match the size of the Hope Diamond, "I knew you'd come! I knew it!" The young mistress had been praying that her fiancé would turn up at the party after all, wanting to use it as a chance to make him smile before Christmas with a little holiday dance and some slightly overdone cheer.

Ciel, who was usually more than overwhelmed by the blonde's attempts to bring his pouty lips to a smile, struggled a bit to try and escape the girl's killer embrace. He looked over to his loyal butler, silently begging for help.

Sebastian, however, simply smiled at the young girl's arrival, ignoring Ciel's silent pleads for help. "Ah, Lady Elizabeth..."

"Lizzie!" She corrected him, her voice still as excited as a poor girl on Christmas who just received the entire inventory of Phantomhive toys.

"Right, Lizzie..." Sebastian nodded before going on, "I see you decided to attend the Viscount's party as well."

"Yup!" Elizabeth piped with a giggle, "And I was hoping Ciel would come so we could have a Christmas dance!"

The earl turned a bright shade of scarlet. "Ch-Christmas dance?" Ciel had convinced himself that, despite knowing how to dance, he was still bad at even a mere waltz.

"Of course!" Elizabeth cheered, tugging on Ciel's sleeve, "It'll be a great way to get you into the holiday spirit!"

"Sebastian..." Ciel _really_ wanted a way out of this predicament.

"I think it would be nice if the young master gave his fiancée at least _one_ dance, in light of the holiday season and your marital status." Sebastian smirked devilishly, doing the opposite of what his master wanted, but knowing that it was for his own good.

"Grr..." Ciel snarled, rolling his eyes before letting out a sigh, "_Fine_, I suppose _one_ dance wouldn't hurt..."

Lizzie squealed, Ciel's reluctant acceptance sounding as beautiful as a proposal to her. "Come on!" The blonde, gripping the earl's arm, dragged Ciel to the dance floor, laughing and giggling all the way as her partner groaned and tried not to run into too many other guests.

Sebastian watched the two children leave for the centre of the dance floor, amused at the little husband-and-wife-to-be pair known as the betrothal of Ciel Phantomhive and Elizabeth Middleford. It was a real shame Sebastian was likely going to eat Ciel's soul before the two could say 'I do'...

_BANG!_

Sebastian soon found himself being 'accidently' bumped in to by a red haired, carmine dressed partier with a large red fan concealing the other's face. The butler stepped back, about to apologise, when he realised that something seemed hauntingly familiar about this guest. The long flowing red hair seemed to remind him of something other than the flowing river of blood leaving a corpse, though he couldn't place where he'd last spotted it. He spotted beads on either side hanging down from the masked face, the guest likely wearing some sort of eyewear like glasses. The satin red dress wasn't exactly ringing any bells, but the colour did, the butler barely noticing how the body in the dress didn't have the most feminine of curves. The damned fan was what was stopping him from truly recognising the mysterious scarlet partier, the demon wishing he could grab the red gloved hand and move it as to get the fan away from the red one's face.

"Oh, excuse me..." Said one in red murmured, the _flamboyant_ voice so familiar to the butler in black. The fan slowly lowered, revealing a pair of brilliant green cat's eyes behind a pair of crimson glasses with skull charms, "_Sebasu-chan~"_

_Those eyes_... They were unmistakable. Only one person had those eyes...

"_Grell..."_ Sebastian groaned, eyes widening in slight shock that the reaper was on the guest list for the party (especially since he wasn't even going to be able to enter as a butler anymore), "What the bloody _hell_ are you doing here?" His tone was more annoyed than anything, the butler stepping back to try and escape the reaper, or at very least get him to stop touching him.

Grell, on the other hand, advanced at every one of Sebastian's forward steps, eyes locked on the butler like a lion locked on a wounded lone gazelle. "Oh, but Sebasu-chan," Grell smiled, revealing his shark-like pointed teeth, "I came all the way out here so I could see _you~!"_

The flirtatious tone only made Sebastian want to get out of there more. Sadly, all he could really do in a situation this public was back away more and more, hoping to shake the reaper somehow. Obviously it wasn't among his favourite plans for avoiding the lovesick Grell Sutcliff, but it was the only plausible one that wouldn't cause attention from other guests.

"Hmm, why are you backing _awaaaaaay_?" Grell whined, matching Sebastian's pace as the butler sped up in his little retreat, "I've missed you nearly to _deaaaaaaath~"_

"Well your poorly made puns certainly weren't missed," Sebastian grumbled, glancing back to see where he was backing up to, wanting to avoid being pinned against a wall. Still walking backwards, Sebastian made a sharp turn to avoid the wall and duck down a hall. He hated how Grell had, in the same time, dropped the fan and started clutching Sebastian's suit, showing no sign of letting go any time soon.

"Awwww, you're _so mean_, Sebby!" Grell pouted, the pout looking more theatrical and overdramatic than any other pout anyone at the party could make (yes, including the Viscount!), "I snuck all the way here just to wish you a happy Christmas and you _don't even care?"_

"Not really," Sebastian said, "Demons aren't exactly keen on celebrating the birth of the holy savoir, after all."

"But Will's gonna _kill meeeeeee_ if he finds out I snuck out and went _all the way here_ just to see _you_!" The man in all red moaned, gripping on to Sebastian's suit more as he tried to increase his pace to make the demonic butler stumble and be at the will of the infatuated reaper.

Sebastian didn't stumble, instead pedalling back and avoiding yet another wall, the pair headed down a rather deserted corridor.

"I don't really care, Grell," Sebastian frowned, narrowing his red eyes at the persistent man, "I _should_ be back in the main hall supervising the young master and his fiancée."

"_Ah,_ but you aren't, _are you_?" A mischievous glint came to the green eyes that wouldn't leave the demon's face, "You're with _me."_

"Not by any means of my own, mind you..." Sebastian muttered, slowing down without knowing it.

Grell let out an extravagant sigh, his feet also slowing as his shoulders moved up and then sagged down at the exhale. "_Come on_, I just wanted to see _my one true love_ just before the _holidays..._ " He muttered, eyes shifting from Sebastian's face to the wall at their right.

The corridor began to chill as the two of them walked in silence for a few rather long moments, neither of them remembering that they were still moving until an icy gust of wind whipped against the back of Sebastian's jacket, telling the two that they were on one of the balconies of the Viscount's manor (the dance having been on the second level of the manor).

Sebastian stopped at the sound of his jacket acting as a windbreaker, glancing behind him only to see the city of London spread out before him, the buzzing city illuminated by but a warm dim glow as the families all prepared for Christmas. He could even see the Parliament's Clock Tower, home of Big Ben, from where he stood, the clock face easily visible, hands gesturing that it was only a minute or so before Christmas officially began.

_How cliché..._ Sebastian thought before glancing back at Grell.

Grell was looking straight up, eyes twinkling like diamonds as he gazed at the doorframe with a Cheshire cat smile.

With the curiosity of a cat, Sebastian glanced up to see what Grell was so interested in, only to see a few green leaves with a bunch of red berries tied with a shiny bow hanging down from the frame.

_Mistletoe..._ Sebastian rolled his eyes, _Naturally there __**had**__ to be..._

"_MISTLETOE!" _Grell's face lit up brighter than all the Christmas trees in the city combined, "You know what _that_ means, hmm?" He looked back at Sebastian, raising a brow, giving the demon a pleading look, even puckering his lips a bit.

Sebastian stared at Grell for a long moment, not entirely sure what to do. He _could_ always hit him since there was no one else around... Or he could just run away... But then again... It _was_ the holidays...

_DONG DING DONG DING! DING DONG DING DONG! DING DONG DING DONG! DONG DING DING DONG!_

Sebastian knew what that sound meant. That meant that in a moment the clock would strike...

_DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!_

Midnight.

"_Sebasu-chan..._" Grell tugged on his coat, "Just _ooooooooone_ _kiss?_"

_DOOOOOOOOOOONG! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!_

Sebastian blinked, and then gave the reaper clinging to him a long stare, Big Ben chiming a good three more times before he let out a sigh and nodded. "Fine," He muttered, "But _only_ because it's a damn Christmas tradition..."

As the bell chimed again, Sebastian brushed back a few stray strands of crimson from Grell's face and leaned in, his lips eagerly met by Grell's long yearning pucker.

Grell especially made sure he had his input in the kiss, having waited _so long_ for the demon of his dreams to kiss him. The reaper pulled himself closer to Sebastian, closing his eyes and trying to make this kiss the most cliché and dramatic one of his life. He even rose his foot up in the air as he shifted all his weight towards Sebastian, his lips pressing hard on the demon's.

Sebastian, meanwhile, fought to stand steady, a bit hesitantly wrapping his arms around Grell's waist to pull him a tad closer. He'd _thought_ that a kiss from a reaper—a basic kiss from death—would be horrible; but he was surprised at how..._pleasant_ it felt. As the bell rang again as he melted into the kiss, like snow melting on a warm spring morning, actually savouring the red-head's lips as Grell lavished his.

_DOOOOOOOOOOOOONG! DOOOOOOOOOOONG! DOOOOOOOOOONG!_

The time the kiss lasted flew by, the bell ceasing to ring, the holiday officially starting. However, the kiss _had_ to end, Sebastian eventually drawing back, although a part of him that _didn't_ find the kiss a chore longed to go back to kissing the red-head (and a part of him on top of that wanting to do much more with him). Grell opened his eyes again, staring up at the demon with a smile larger than the Crystal Palace.

"Happy, Grell?" Sebastian asked, forcing his lips into a line as opposed to letting them curve up.

"_Oh yeah..."_ Grell nodded, swaying a little as he let go of Sebastian's coat, "I'm more than _happy, Sebasu-chan~"_

"Wonderful," The butler quickly replied, nearly pushing the reaper off of him and starting for the party hall again, "Now _I _must be going, my young master is waiting for me."

"Hmhm...Of course," Grell said, a bit of a playful tone to his voice as he walked to the edge of the balcony, taking a seat on the railing, "Maybe next time we meet... We can do more than just kiss~"

"_Good bye, Grell."_ Sebastian said, more than a little shocked that he felt his cheeks warm up a bit from the remark.

"Until we meet again, my lovely Sebasu-chan~" Grell winked and blew another kiss to the man in black hurrying away from him before leaning back and making a usual ostentatious exit, this time by falling off a balcony and vanishing into the night, resuming his soul collecting duties.

When he knew that Grell had gone, Sebastian glanced back, not caring whether or not he smiled then. Although it wasn't particularly natural, he did find the kiss..._interesting_. Of course, that would be his own little secret; along with the kiss itself.

The black haired man walked back to the party, brushing off some of the snow that had gotten on him from being outside for a few minutes and then standing back in his spot, just as he did before. Sebastian did, though, still have a smirk on his face he simply couldn't wipe away.

"_Sebastian!" _Ciel's voice rang in Sebastian's ears, the young earl's yell louder than a clock tower bell.

The butler glanced over in the direction his master's voice was coming from only to see the boy storming towards him, his fiancée nowhere to be seen. "Where have you been?" Ciel barked, "I was up for _one_ dance with Lizzie, not _five_! It's been a bloody hour and where the hell where you? Not here where I needed you!"

"Young master," Sebastian said, "Calm down, I was simply..." He paused, thinking up an explanation for where he'd really been, "Looking out at the city for a while, making sure no one you'd not want to see would come about."

"Ugh, either way..." Ciel crossed his arms, "She made me stand under the mistletoe with her after all those dances and I think I've had enough partying for one night."

"Yes, it has gotten late...in fact, it's Christmas Day," The demon said, his lips curving a bit more and enlargening the smirk.

"Christmas Day?" Ciel asked, "_Great_, we've managed to stay here even longer than I was originally forced to by my public stature. I want to go home."

"Of course you do, young master," Sebastian nodded, "Shall we make our leave?"

"_Please_," Ciel didn't show a smidge of hesitation in heading towards the exit, "Come, Sebastian, let's finally go home."

"Yes, my lord," The demon bowed, following the boy as they walked out, "And, happy Christmas, young master."

"Happy Christmas..." Ciel rolled an eye, pausing before saying, "Wait, since when do _demons_ care for Christmas?"

Sebastian smiled, letting the smirk grow and gain more catlike qualities, the memories of that encounter under the mistletoe with the reaper dancing in his head like the images of sugar plums that danced in many young Londoners' dreams.

"Let's just say..." Sebastian tilted his head, "A little trip on the balcony made me start to...appreciate Christmas decorations a bit."

"Lovely," Ciel said, not really caring, "Now let's just go _home. _And _fast."_

"Yes, my lord."

_**~The End~**_


End file.
